


Ineffable

by Eos_x



Series: Fanfiction art [12]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Art, Developing Relationship, Enemies to Friends, Gift Art, Hive Ships (Stargate), Iratus-Mutated John Sheppard, M/M, Painting, Prompt Fill, Transformation, Trust, Wraith (Stargate), and a very short story...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:28:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27099634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eos_x/pseuds/Eos_x
Summary: ***A watercolour painting and associated imagined conversation between John and Todd.***A semi-transformed bug!John finds help from his wraith ally, Todd, while he struggles to accept his new appearance and abilities.
Relationships: John Sheppard/Todd the Wraith
Series: Fanfiction art [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1797637
Comments: 12
Kudos: 22
Collections: Aliens Don't Care For Human Mating, Oh for the love of Todd!





	1. The final painting and short story

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dragonflower1](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonflower1/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [koryuu1 (dragonflower1)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonflower1/pseuds/koryuu1) in the [Todd_fanworks_challenge](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Todd_fanworks_challenge) collection. 



> **Prompt:**  
>  Dragonflower1 was interested in seeing Todd deal with bug!John and help him by inviting him onto his hive. I loved this prompt idea and I wanted to capture a moment between Todd and John as they grew closer.
> 
> I chose the word 'ineffable' for the title because it relates both to what happens in the little story and to the idea that art can capture a moment in a different way to tell its own little tale. :D

**********************

_**ineffable**. (adj). too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words._

********************** 

****

***********************************************

"Hey, Todd?" John asks, leaning in the doorway of Todd's study.

"Hmmm?" the Wraith Commander replies absently. The awkward pause that follows prompts Todd to look up from the data tablet he has been absorbed in for the past hour. He tilts his head to the side and waits.

"Well, uh, y'know...," John trails off.

Todd puts the tablet away and lays his hands on the tabletop. "No, John Sheppard, I do not know."

"It's just that... I don't think anyone's ever going to be okay with... well, y'know," John says again, gesturing vaguely to himself as he ambles closer.

Todd sighs heavily, his gilded stare piercing straight through John's recently yellowed eyes. Pushing his chair back and raising himself to his full height, Todd lifts his chin to appraise him. John has to fight the urge to squirm under such intense scrutiny.

The Wraith moves around his desk and stands before John who finds himself drawn into what he had always thought of as an Athosian embrace. Standing this close, their foreheads resting together, John can see his mutated self reflected in the inky depths of the Wraith's dilated pupils. Words like _mutant_ and _monster_ roll through his mind. A resolute hum rumbles from deep within Todd's chest.

"I see nothing for anyone to be _okay_ with," Todd snarls. 

John feels a prickling sensation and closes his eyes. He's still so new to all this, but Todd always makes sure to hover at the edge of his mind, giving John the choice to go to him. John wills his mind forward to where an image forms in the darkness. What he sees is his own face, only his scales are lit up with a sharp ice-blue glow of health, his partially white hair like some kind of ethereal halo. His new, alien eyes are not really yellow at all but are struck through with striations of bold impish lemon and wicked clever lime, a warm amber radiating from beneath. He can feel Todd's pride in the way John has risen to claim his place in the hive after such a short time. But this is quickly replaced by the Wraith's smug satisfaction at being right about the worthy human he once claimed as 'brother'. 

Todd speaks quietly, cool breath ghosting across John's lips. "It is really quite simple; you are not a mutant or monster at all. You have merely found a form that can finally keep up with the exceptional creature you have always been."

 _Huh_. And just like that, John's burden eases a little and he can't help but grin and nudge his forehead against Todd's. "Oh, yeah?"

"Oh, yes," Todd hisses, smiling back at him. And right there, at the very place where their minds are linked, he hears that familiar dual-toned voice speaking his name. This is something he has heard Todd say countless times before, but he is only now truly _hearing_ it for the first time and it is something far greater than he could have ever possibly realised _._

The Wraith has layered the words with new meaning; they feel like _brother_ and _hive_ and _noone-left-behind_ , they whip along the borders of his mind with the sound of a dart trailing in their wake, and he can almost taste salty sea air on his tongue...

His name is soaked through with such significance that it now emanates with everything that he _is._ John realises that, at some point in the past, Todd had transformed his ordinary name into a booming metaphysical declaration and every time he spoke that name out loud, the Wraith was saying so much more. John closes his eyes and leans his mind against the Todd's, listening to those deep, rich tones as they resonate through him, echoing over and over --

**_\- John Shepparrrd. -_ **

_********************************************************************************************_


	2. The original painting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the original watercolour painting I did of John and Todd...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This began as a simple pencil sketch. I tried colouring it with pastels and pencils before settling on watercolours with some pencil details here and there. You may not be able to see it, but yes, the shoulders of Todd's jacket have a sprinkling of silver glitter... XD

**Notes** :

When I first watched the 'Conversion' episode, I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if John's transformation wasn't interrupted and reversed. Would the blue scales eventually have sloughed off to reveal that unnaturally smooth blueish Wraith skin? Was his loss of a sound mind only temporary while his brain got used to the additional senses that must have been overwhelming for him? 

For Dragonflower1's prompt, I wanted to try drawing John as though the transformation got a bit stuck between man and Iratus. I've always liked the notion that perhaps the Wraith were the first to use the forehead touch as a greeting, something the Athosians might have adopted later. It creates a lovely physical representation of the mind-to-mind telepathic communication used by the Wraith. There's a real sense of togetherness between John and Todd this way. 

Surprisingly, John's nose behaved itself in the sketching phase (it is usually so difficult!) but Todd was his usual tricksy self. He's meant to be totally in profile, but wanted to show off those shoulders and imply he is reaching out to draw John a little closer.

In the final artwork (chapter 1), I included some white hair for John and some exaggerated white streaks for Todd, which reflects the soft purple and blue lighting of the hive environment. I also added a subtle yellow glow to their eyes and darkened the edges of the image to give it a more intimate feel. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 has the photo manipulations that I began with, and some colour treatments...
> 
> Thank you for taking a look! :D


	3. Photo manipulations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A 'photo' of John and Todd with their foreheads together. The image is then colour treated to show them in three different styles - the third one is just a little bit of fun...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to use photos from the show as a starting point for creating sketches to get proportions right and find a good layout. In reality, Todd and John are not the same height, so Todd would have to lean down to touch his forehead to John's, but for the painting, I wanted to have them on the same level.

This is my photoshopped image that brings John and Todd together in the one 'photo'. As you can see, the image of Todd is of his right side. When I created my own sketch, I flipped this around so that I could include his tattoo. When I came to sketch them, Todd's hand just didn't look right, but I think it works in the 'photo'.

This image has two lens flares to signify their mind-impressions; Todd's is a bright blue-white while John's is a smaller warm red. This is just my particular headcanon for what their minds might 'look' or feel like. 

Below is a colour treated version of the image in greens and blues that serves to highlight the contrast between light and shadow.

And the fun one! This is for the John/Todd shippers. Even though the image itself is the same, the dark blue with pink highlights (oh, and the giant heart!) seem to make the pair of them look a little more intense...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's all folks! :D


End file.
